Making & Using Caramel by Bill Collins

Description from Netgalley:

Chef Bill Collins demonstrates all the techniques you need to make caramel candies, cookies, puddings, and more, using illustrated step-by-step instructions that ensure success every time. Includes safety guidelines, troubleshooting tips, and irresistible recipes!

My review:

This is my first cookbook purely for making and using caramel and I am really happy that I got the chance to review it.

Bill's description of techniques, equipment and recipes is simple, easy to follow, but kept interesting at the same time. I read this book like I would a novel, because I love cooking and was interested in all things caramel.

The recipes are easy to follow, which is usually a downfall of many cookbooks. I am only taking away half a star due to the fact that there are no pictures at the moment. I am hoping that the finished book will be accompanied by photograph of Bill's creations.

Thank you to Bill Collins, Storey Publishing and Netgalley for giving me access to this book in return for an honest opinion.

Publication date: 26 January 2016

My rating: 4.5/5

Unbound (Colours of Love #1) by Kathryn Taylor

Synopsis from Amazon:

Grace is young and has led a sheltered life. She hasn't yet taken much of an interest in men. It's only while doing an internship in London, where she meets the alluring Jonathan Huntington, that our sleeping beauty is awoken from her slumber. Jonathan is rich, incredibly attractive, and stems from British royalty - but he is a far cry from Prince Charming. He lures Grace ever deeper into his world of sinister passion, and she is sucked further and further into the maelstrom of her own growing desires. But when Jonathan demands she do the unthinkable to prove her love for him, she realizes just how dangerous her feelings for him are.

My review:

Whilst reading this book I had to try very hard to forget that I have read 50 Shades of Grey first as it is very difficult not to compare the two. Saying that though I feel I have enjoyed Unbound more and it surprised me. I judged the book by its synopsis and thought that once you read one, you’ve read them all.

Grace is an attractive, intelligent student on her way to London to work as an intern at a very prestigious companies. She bumps into Jonathan, the mysterious and unreadable owner of the company) at the airport and makes such an impression on him that he decides to have Grace working closely with him. Of course it’s not long before the affair starts. It’s certainly not what Grace was expecting but she is drawn to the handsome, somewhat dark, boss and she knows pretty soon that she has fallen in love him.

Jonathan obviously has emotional issues and refuses to get involved in anything other than sex and makes it pretty clear that that is all Grace is going to get out of him.

I liked the book. I thought the story line flowed well, the language was good (although I do shudder at the word pearl) and the raunchy scenes were well written. It’s a more believable story and I am looking forward to reading the next instalment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bastei Entertainment for access to this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

My rating: 3.5/5

Smart Girl by Rachel Hollis

Synopsis from Amazon:

Brilliant designer Miko Jin is a hopeless romantic. She’s spent most of her life falling in love over and over again…with the men she finds in the pages of her favorite novels.

When Miko meets Liam Ashton, it’s love at first sight. At least, for her. Sure, the two of them are polar opposites, and yes, he seems to be dating someone new each week. But Miko knows what true love is and that you can’t rush it—after all, what she lacks in real-world experience, she makes up for in book smarts. With novels as her guide, and her best friends by her side, she knows she can get Liam to love her back. But just like any good romance novel, fate has a few plot twists in store. Will Miko get her own happy ending? Will she find the strength to stand up for what she deserves even if it means breaking her own heart?

My review:

This turned out to be a very enjoyable romance. I smiled, giggled and even had a little tear over the antics of the young and likable Miko. She might be naïve, but she is driven, successful, and intelligent and a hopeless romantic who believes that love should happen just like it does in all the books she reads. And why not? Even if she does have to help it along a little.

Miko is helplessly in with her best friend’s brother Liam. There stands on of her problems, as she knows her best friend Max is most likely going to kill her when she finds out. But the biggest hurdle she has to get over is Liam himself. Liam is the Viking God in Miko’s eyes and can’t do no wrong and although all her friends warn her she really is blind to the car crash of a heartache that is heading her way.

 

This book is light hearted, romantic and uplifting and I am so glad I have had the privileged to read this book. It really has made me smile on those dark wintery nights. I have a real appreciation for the beautiful friendships in this book and the support the characters all give each other.

Thank you very much to Rachel Hollis and Netgalley for allowing me to read this lovely book in exchange for an honest review.

My rating: 4/5